Bogdan Tudorache

There is a controversy over the listing of state-owned companies: to wait for the end of the crisis period (now triggered by Covid), in order to get a better price in the market, or to list anyway, as future stock market increases will equate to profit obtained during a boom period? It is, practically, the only barrier to the fastest possible listing of Hidroelectrica, about which more has been written than has been done in recent years.

However, the new Liberal government says the listing is approaching. And the law blocking the privatization of Hidroelectrica until the summer of 2022 will be abolished next month, promises Deputy Prime Minister Dan Barna.

“The law blocking the listing of Hidroelectrica… is a priority of the first weeks in Parliament. At the beginning of February, I hope that it will enter the emergency procedure and we will be able to pass through the Parliament. It is a zero priority from the point of view of the governing coalition. Once that major obstacle is eliminated, all the steps for listing Hidroelectrica will return to the normal course,” said Barna, in front of the stock exchange investors.

“We will all strive to accelerate the listing of Hidroelectrica and possibly other companies where the state has a majority presence,” said Bogdan Chiritoiu, president of the Competition Council, also present at the event marking 10 years since the listing of Fondul Proprietatea.

According to experts, due diligence procedures for listing can take up to six months, in an accelerated form, which would mean a listing in the fall or winter of this year. If the steps stumble, or the listing is dual, the procedures could be delayed again. Which would push the listing in 2022.

“We are waiting for the legislative restrictions to be lifted, so that we can continue the listing process. We hope for a listing of Hidroelectrica, in the happiest case, at the end of this year, if things go quickly and we have enough time to prepare. I would not like to say that later than next spring, because it is an expected listing – it will be a crucial moment for the Romanian capital market,” said Bogdan Badea, the president of Hidroelectrica’s Directorate.